Does Gujarat need such representatives?

Even as the people of the country sit back and look at the rich heritage and the architectural beauty of India during the heritage week celebrations, the people are also being informed about some of the great people of Gujarat who became part of history and for their developmental movements. History has it that people of Gujarat have always been part of peaceful movements that motivated people from other parts of the country to join them be it the Mahatma or the Sardar.

But decades later as the Liberhan Committee has brought out its findings, as people of Gujarat one feels ashamed to have elected a leader into the Parliament who will be remembered for having tinkered with the social fabric of the country. The former Deputy Prime Minister Mr L K Advani who till the previous elections marketed himself as the PM in waiting and the Iron Man, now finds himself responsible for motivating innocent people to bring down a historical structure like the Babri Masjid. Definitely people of Gujarat will not like to associate themselves with such leaders.

While on one hand such leaders shout from rooftops about their secular credentials, on the other they do not have any moral standings to remain as mute spectators to incidents like the Babri demolition or the 2002 massacre in Gujarat.  These two events have brought a national shame to the country and during both these events Mr Advani had a crucial role to play. While in the former he participated actively in the later event he refused to act.

Mr Advani who has been contemplating retirement from politics ever since his party lost in the recent Lok Sabha elections will now be convinced that he not only has no place in Indian polity but people like him do not have place in a civil society as well.  The Liberhan Committee’s findings has reiterated the fact that it was at the instigation of leaders like Mr Advani that December 6 1992 would be remembered in our country for generations to come, and we as people of Gujarat hang our heads in shame to have sent such a representative from the state to raise our problems. A person, a leader who cannot protect the national interest definitely cannot protect the interest of the people of a peace loving state like ours.

 Does Gujarat need such representatives?